Hey there, 23-year old newbie here. I just got out of the Navy, and his is my first year back at my college, and I'm just starting to form some social connections. After hanging around with some people I didn't really blend with, I'm finally getting invited to people I can relate to better. I did all the newbie stuff about 6 months back, took a break from pickup, and now I'm getting back into it at parties. Here's where I'm at, highlighted is how I will react in the future in a similar situation.

Note: I've been pretty anti-social most my life and I have some anxiety issues, so I'll try to be as honest about that where I think it'll be useful to someone in a similar situation.

About a month ago I had my first semi-success. The situation was she had just broken up with some Joe, so I was just walking around talking to people. We saw each other in a room and I had a good buzz going so I just made heavy eye contact, really didn't say much. I drew in towards her as if I was going for a kiss, and just gave her an eskimo kiss, gave her a smile and walked off to talk to other people. She was pretty cute, mb a 7. She's prob top 5 females in the voice section of my school though, so at least in that arena she carries herself like a 9 (I'm prob top 5 male).

A few minutes later she came into the room where I was talking to some friends. I was drunk and I just whisper in her ear "I think your fake leg is kind of sexy." Can't believe I said that, but her response was pretty chill "Yeah, some guys think it's a bit of a novelty item. So I give her a kiss then she does that weird stripper shit girls do where they grab you by the hand then try to lead you somewhere. I always find it really physically awkward, her one hand is pulling back and you have to hold it while walking forward. Next time one does it I'm going to pull her hand closer to her back, more physical closeness and feels better.

So she pulls me to an odd spot, right in front of the doorway. I thought to myself "awkward ass place to make out." So we make out for like 20 minutes, and I rub her pussy a little bit. Like 3 people took pictures and some girl was like "get a room." As a man, I think I should have kissed her once at her spot, then lead her to somewhere more discreet. I think she felt a bit embarrassed at making out in front of everyone, so she drove home after that. I texted her once to make sure she was all right, but I wasn't proactive in getting a day 2 after a little damage control.

At another party, I chatted up a random girl. She was cute but kind of dumb. I made eye contact with her, then semi-ignored her in conversation and made sure I was always in set, displaying happiness and confidence with low-emotion, low-toned voice. So we talked again outside, I gave her a bit of attention but another dude entered the convo, I was getting blown out so I excused myself. She came up to me inside, then said "wow I keep following you around the party." We got on the subject of Magic The Gathering (lolwut?), her subject, and I made a comment about how she was wasting her money for the most cost-effective way to play. I didn't push the convo because that's usually not something chicks dig, but I peppered DHV in how she wasn't buying cards cost effectively and named attributes she couldn't guess. She said she was attracted to me and followed up with "Yeah if a guy pays too much attention to me I just don't find him attractive." I was pretty honest and said "Yeah that's prob why you're attracted to me, I ignored the shit out of you earlier ;P" Later find out she has a boyfriend, but I did a bit of kino anyways. I just lightly placed my lips on her neck and my hand on the back of her head, and pulled it to her lips, which she said was one of her biggest erogenous zones. I stopped short of a kiss because she got excited during the kino, but resisted at that point with some ASD. By the end of the night I should've pressed at least for kiss close but I didn't. I pressed for a day 2 but she sent me a zillion texts that she's doing stuff with her bf, even tho he's flaked, so no dice.

One girl I brought back from a day out with friends to my hottub about a week ago, but I wasn't really attracted. Body was a 7, but intelligence/drive is a big thing for me because I get bored if a girl can't carry her end of the conversation and we aren't making out, then wtf are we doing? She sent off a lot of strange vibes, I don't know how much was attraction and how much was her seeking validation from me, but she asked if I found her attractive, she told me she liked smart guys (me), and she sort of? told me she didn't make out with some random dude? But she kind of wanted me to think she did? I had no idea what to make of it, but I guess she wanted me to think she wasn't a slut but could get guys. Part of me wanted to press for kino, but I felt like I'd be using her a bit, because she seemed low-self esteem, and I wouldn't be comfortable making out or escalating then dropping her. In hindsight, I think I made the right decision to not do kino.

At a few parties, I didn't make much progress because my social anxiety would be too painful to make much headway. Alcohol is a weird factor there, I find if I start with 2-3 drinks and add another 2 drinks over the course of the night to sustain the buzz with good hydration, I'm good. If I deviate from that I'm either getting too sloppy or it puts me in a bad head place. Alcohol is a bit of a crutch I'll admit, but hey sometimes you gotta use training wheels to learn how to ride.

Improvement I've made: Learning to use my God-given balls and just kiss a bitch, speaking in a lower toned voice with low emotion with attractive vibes to it, building an attractive lifestyle, stop making self-depreciating comments.
Improvements I'm making: Getting Day 2's, curbing the social anxiety, gym sauce, and finding relatable shit to talk about.